Springsteen in San Jose: Nils Lofgren and others weigh in

I’ve gotten a ton of response to my review of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s show in San Jose on Wednesday that kicked off the “Working on a Dream” world tour. I’ve been called an “idiot” and an “a–hole,” and also been told my review was “right on the money” and “one of the best I’ve ever read” (thanks, Mom!). If you missed it, you can check it out here.

For what it’s worth, it might have come off a tad harsher than intended. I only meant to say that it was far short of the truly memorable Bruce shows I’ve seen in the past (like last year in Sacramento), not that it was a terrible show. (One thing pretty much every one has agreed on: The sound in the Shark Tank was too loud and muddy.)

But the response that has interested me the most came today when I chatted with E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren on the phone to discuss his fine CD of Neil Young covers, “The Loner: Nils Sings Neil.” It’s well worth checking out for anyone who loves Neil, and who doesn’t? I’ll write more about that in print soon, but for now, let’s share Nils’ thoughts on the San Jose show and a particular review that sure sounds like mine.

ON CRITICS: (This was in the context of me asking him about some of the negative reaction from fans to the epic new song “Outlaw Pete,” which he said he was unaware of.): “I’m so wrapped up in the music that I really don’t go on the Internet and analyze what the fans are thinking and saying. To me the review that matters is the people in front of me in the room that night. Are they enjoying it? Do they feel like they’re exhilarated? Do they feel like they’re jumping up and down, got energy after three hours? And so far they have, and that to me is the review I need the most. You know, it’s strange. Somebody said something about a reviewer who thought Bruce really has his hands full trying to present this music with what’s going on in the world. … It’s not right to say what his responsibilities are really as a singer and a writer. I think you’ve got to give people a little more latitude. It’s like the writer was kind of saying Bruce must do this and accomplish this with his tour. Well who made that rule? It’s a strange thing. … I mean, look what he’s accomplished. Look at his catalog. If he wants to sing for his fans and they want to show up and hear it, then that’s the covenant that’s going to make it work. I tend to get weirded out by writers — or fans even — who decide this is his goal for this tour, he must accomplish it, and I don’t see it yet. Who died and made you king? I don’t begrudge anybody. Listen man, I go through it too. ‘Why didn’t you play that song?’ ‘I wasn’t feeling it.’ ‘Well I’m disappointed.’ ‘I’m sorry.’ But you want to sing what you feel. Listen, after you look at what Bruce has accomplished, the fact that he wants to sing for his fans, I’m happy to help him play any and every song he wants to sing, any given night, and to me, if his heart is in it, it’s going to work.”

ON THE TOUR KICKOFF IN SAN JOSE: “The main thing was, it felt like we were six, eight shows in. It really didn’t feel like a first show at all. I was surprised, especially in the fact that that was the least amount of rehearsal we’d ever done for a tour. I was a little taken aback by the not-much time, and I was also impressed by how well the first show felt. Again, that’s just good judgment. Everything’s always kind of on the edge, but Bruce is smart, he’s a great bandleader, and he knows, hey, there’s some new songs we’re going to work on at soundcheck so they’re presentable. There’s others out of the gate that are working already. And you know, how to navigate all that is his job, and he’s great at it.”

Well said, Nils! Anyway, I’ve loved his music for a quarter-century, so it was a kick to get to talk music with him. Any dude whose resume includes “After the Gold Rush,” “Tonight’s the Night,” “The Rising,” the first three Grin records, the first Crazy Horse album, a classic self-titled solo debut and countless other good-to-great solo tracks deserves much respect. And man oh man can the dude play guitar, either electric or acoustic. If you haven’t checked out his stuff, you certainly should. More on Nils to come.